The present invention, structure and procedure for assembling concrete used in wind turbines refers to an original and innovative structure and its associated assembly procedure, for the construction of wind turbine generators in wind farms.
Therefore, the present invention will be of particular interest for the industry supplying wind turbines for making use of wind energy and for the construction industry in respect of civil work for this type of installation.
The structure and procedure which is the object of this invention presupposes an advance in respect of the present State of the Art, although it is based on specific inventions developed by the same holder in a continuously innovative process in this section to which the object of the present invention refers.
In addition, this permits the financially and technically viable development of large concrete towers, which exceed the height of the steel towers traditionally used, and which overcome specific structural problems, in particular vibrations and fatigue which are the chief obstacle to developing height in wind turbines currently installed in commercial wind farms.
It is a well known fact that wind power is currently being developed worldwide and especially in European countries such as Germany, Spain and Denmark.
Following more than a decade of considerable technological advances progressing from dozens of kW to today's MW, it became increasingly clear that there was a need to move towards machines with larger diameter blades (from 90 metres at present) and to a greater hub height reaching over one hundred metres. This development requires new technologies, which will enable the viable construction in terms of costs and time of progressively higher towers.
In this process of advancing the State of the Art, the following three inventions by the same holder of the present invention may be cited as reference since they belong to the same scope of the art.
Thus, utility model U200502266 “Mould perfected for the execution of prefabricated concrete elements for the construction of modular towers for wind turbines”, is an invention consisting of formwork made from metal, PVC, fibreglass or any other material, required to manufacture elements with complicated geometry and strict tolerances, required in the manufacture of towers within the same scope of application as the present invention. This invention satisfactorily resolves specific problems associated with manufacture, using precast concrete, of elements for the construction of modular towers for wind turbines.
In addition, Utility model U200501400 “Perfected structure of joints between plates of modular towers for wind turbines and other applications” consists of an innovative and original structure for joining the plates which make up the aforementioned towers, supporting the wind turbine electricity generators.
Finally, another Spanish invention pertinent to this same state of the art, describes in Utility model U200402304 “Perfected structure of a modular tower for wind turbines and other applications” which consists of another invention by the same inventor which claims the division of the tower into sections limited by horizontal joints and the division of each section of tower into different prefabricated elements, known as segments, in portions, so that they have dimensions and weights which facilitate their transportation from the factory to the wind farm. In this technique the union of the various structural elements is achieved by means of reinforced or pre-stressed connections. All of which implies the need to resolve the union of these elements so that problems of resistance and deformation associated with such unions using different materials in a situation where they require the special characteristics of water tightness and mechanical resistance.
Nevertheless, and despite the advances made in the State of the Art, due to the previous inventions, in order to achieve the objective of creating concrete tower structures with precast parts erected at the final site, which will contribute to the known technology currently used in the State of the Art, it is necessary to devise a structure and procedure which enables it to be carried out in a viable manner with respect to mechanical resistance, therefore resulting in viable costs and execution time constraints, which is the object of the present invention.